The Knife

What I learned at the 21st Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles

With their assemblies of local restaurants, wine tastings and silent auctions, the charity food event has become Los Angeles' weekly county fair. This weekend, it was the 21st Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles honoring the Bros. Drago and benefiting the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. And what did we learn? Well...

From left: La Terza chef Gino Angelini, Michelin-starred Providence chef Michael Cimarusti and Providence maitre'd/co-owner Donato Poto

1. Michael Cimarusti and Craig Min are ready to open their LA Mill Coffee Boutique -- but the LA employment pool hasn't been ready for them. "The final inspections are this week, but I don't have anyone in the kitchen," says Cimarusti. "We've received a lot of resumes, but they haven't had the skills we've been looking for." To be clear, LaMill will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a focus on simple foods like soups and paninis as well as dessert tasting menus and, of course, coffee. Think you've got the right stuff? Email Michael at info@providencela.com.

2. The hope is to open Susan Feniger's new restaurant in May, or thereabouts. Also! Name of said restaurant will be Street and the focus is cross-cultural street food. (I didn't learn the name or focus from anyone at the event -- other sources, can't reveal, blah blah.)

3. You want to find the best wine at any charity event? Dan Fredman's your man. A familiar sight at many of these shindigs, Fredman does PR and marketing for a bunch of small wineries (as well as Barrel Malibu) and whatever he decides to bring doesn't disappoint. Often, he can also be prevailed upon to uncork a little something something hiding behind the table.

4. Ignore silent auctions at your peril. Maybe it's because LA sees so many of them, but you can find some sweet bargains. I've been meaning to get a Zojirushi rice cooker and won this one for $90. And it all went to the NKFSC.

5. VIP's a gyp. Here, the VIP section was comprised of a Jack Daniels/Maker's Mark station and one for cigars. For this and the privilege of entering a half-hour earlier, the charge is an extra $75. Not picking on the NKFSC -- other well-meaning charities have had similar VIP sections tinged with afterthought -- but with a new county fair every week, maybe there's something else to be done to lure the well-heeled?

Comme Ca Monday night: Raise a beer to a record-breaking paddler

Comme Ça wasted no time getting philanthropic. On Nov. 5, David Myers' new restaurant will team with Alaskan Brewing Co. for a prix-fixe, beer-pairing four-course dinner. Even the charity is charitable: Costal CODE (Clean Oceans Depend on Everyone) was the evening's original beneficiary, but they're now splitting the evening's take with the American Red Cross to aid Southern California wildfire victims.

The evening also promises to be festive, as it's also celebrating Tom Jones' completion of his world record-breaking paddling expedition more than 1,250 miles down California's coast (he began Aug. 7 in Crescent City and is scheduled to end Nov. 4 on Imperial Beach, just south of San Diego).

Here's the menu:

Appetizers (Alaskan Amber)
Mushroom risotto, duck confit, maitake mushrooms (Alaskan Winter Ale)
Wild Alaskan salmon, roasted endive, gnocchi Parisienne (Alaskan IPA)
Paleron of beef Bourguignon, horseradish pomme puree, braised carrots (Alaskan Stout)
Brioche bread pudding with raspberries (Alaskan Smoked Porter)

All this for $125. You could do a lot worse for a Monday. To reserve, call Comme Ça at (323) 782-1104.

Savor The Season: Food geeks rule

The first week in October is tough when you're a tasting event. Memories, if not indigestion, are still fresh from the American Food & Wine Festival the week before. However, Savor The Season found a way to stand out with a collection of full-on food obsessives -- people who, in an earlier time, would probably have been locked away to protect the public from their single-minded geekdom. We are fortunate to live in a more accepting age.

If you can't afford $500, just watch the video

Video from Enlightened Concierge

Here's another expensive charity dinner, this one courtesy of producer Bill Johnson ("The Women"). There will probably be some celebrity sightings (supporters include Shiva McDermott, Woody Harrelson and Flea); the chef is Lisbeth Caiaffa from Golden Door Spa, so you should eat well, if lightly. 

However, the reason to go is the story of this woman, an American Indian who raised six kids on her own and then decided it would be a good idea to raise 27 more, only this time they should be Peruvian orphans just outside Machu Picchu. 

In her spare time, she runs two soup kitchens to feed the homeless and elderly.

Tickets are $500 each and 100% tax deductible; all monies go directly to the orphanage, Casa de Milagros. The dinner takes place at Johnson's Venice home Oct. 19. To RSVP, email leah@lmfstudio.com.

Eating for Charity: With an Ambullneo on your label, you will like it like it like it, on your table table table

There's a lot of dismay surrounding "critter" wines -- labels that feature a kangaroo, duck, frog, rhino or other garanimal. Last year, the New York Times cited Nielsen research that put critters on one in five of all new wine brands' labels. The logic is when shoppers coo, they buy.

Howeve, I'm impressed when a winery names itself for a critter with zero coo factor.

Ambullneo Vineyards is named for a breed that's a cross between an American Bulldog and a Neopolitan Mastiff. Ambullneos aren't familiar or cute (they look like the cement gargoyles in "Ghostbusters;" in any case, the wine's label is animal-free), but they are well loved by winery owner Greg Linn. And with the attention surrounding the Michael Vick trial, it's a good time for Ambullneo to host a wine dinner at Valentino that raises money for two large-breed charities. Reservations are $300 per person; all net proceeds go to support the Villaobos Foundation and CARMA Rescue.

Another key difference between Ambullneo and other critterish wines: Ambullneo has enviable Parker scores.

Wednesday, Oct. 17; 6:30 pm, Valentino Ristorante, 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 829-4313. $300.00* per person, plus tax and gratuity (*tax deduct less $148.)

Slow Food tells The Knife not so fast

So it turns out that the Alice Waters table at the Sept. 23 Campanile dinner benefiting Slow Food Nation has not been sold -- and furthermore, $25,000 will not buy you a seat; it will buy you Waters' entire 10-person table.

What if you have a hankering to hang with Waters, but have only $2,500 or so burning a hole in your pocket? Says Slow Food rep Lisa Lucas:

"If there are individuals who can't rustle up a table of 10 but do want to support the event at this level, they can indicate that and be put on a waiting list. If the table is not sold as a whole and seats are available, I'm sure we'll accommodate them. And if the table is sold, we would be in contact with them about the $1,000 seats (which will be in the same section, near Alice's table, and will also include the pre-dinner cocktail reception with Alice and Mark Peel)."

James Beard made me do it: Gluttonpalooza

In the fall, there is a movement to fatten us up like pigs for slaughter.

SEPT. 23: Outstanding in the Field goes head-to-head with a fundraiser for Slow Food Nation at Campanile, with Alice Waters hosting with chef-owner Mark Peel. Waters' table is already booked; seats were $25,000 each. You can still pay $250 for a less lofty seat, or $1,000 for said seat and the cocktail reception that precedes it. 

SEPT. 28: Steak. Steak will help you get ready for Saturday's American Food & Wine Festival. Wolfgang Puck will host "Red Hot Friday" at Red Seven (Pacific Design Center) with contributions from CUT, Wynn Hotel's SW Steakhouse, Craft and others. A ticket is $150. Like the festival, proceeds go to Puck-Lazaroff Foundation, earmarked for Meals on Wheels.

The same night is the inaugural launch of James Beard Foundation's Taste America, billed as a national food festival. In L.A., that means dinner at Providence, with chef Michel Richard (Citronelle, Washington, D.C.) working with Providence's Michael Cimarusti. It's $150 per person; $200 with wine pairing. Some proceeds go to yep, Puck-Lazaroff.

SEPT. 29: Nancy Silverton does a cooking demonstration at Williams-Sonoma in the name of the Beardies. Her sister will also be on hand with samples from her Gelato Bar in Studio City. In the evening, there's a cocktail party on the Universal backlot.

OCT. 7: A week later, it's Savor the Season for Break The Cycle. At this point that sounds like a directive, but it's a benefit for teens facing dating violence. Restaurants include Jar, Bin 8945, Tanzore, Water Grill, Il Grano and Violet. Tickets are $100, $250 for VIPs.

And with that, let the trussing begin.

Outstanding in the Field.
Slow Food Nation, Campanile. www.slowfoodla.com or (323) 938-1447
Red Hot Friday. (310) 777-3707
American Food and Wine Festival. www.awff.org
James Beard Foundation's Taste America, Providence. (323) 460-4170
Savor the Season, Exposition Park. Savortheseason.org or (310) 424-2805

Wolfgang Puck, the amusement park: American Food and Wine Festival

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio has some of the world's highest and most elegant roller coasters. I mention this because if Cedar Point was a food festival, it would be Wolfgang Puck's American Food & Wine Festival on Sept. 29.  And last year's sold out.

A small sampling of confirmed chefs to date: David Burke, Tom Colicchio, Nobu Matsuhisa, Mark Miller, Michael Mina, Mark Peel, Paul Prudhomme, Nancy Silverton and Lydia Shire.

And when a chef confirms for Puck, he or she shows up. It's Stephan Pyles and Jimmy Schmidt and Jasper White dishing out their own food, which probably explains why what you'll eat here is as good as anything you might get in their restaurants.

For the wine, expect to see (among others) Au Bon Climat, Domaine Drouhin, Frank Family, Havens, Hitching Post, Jordan, Justin, L'Aventure, Melville, Rosenthal, Silver Oak and Qupe.

It's not cheap, but even $300 a ticket is hard to regret when it benefits the Los Angeles chapter of Meals On Wheels. AWFF, 25 years; LAMOW, $13 million and counting. Tickets: www.awff.org.

(Photo credit: Cedar Point Amusement Park/Resort, copyright Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.)

Wally's Central Coast Wine and Food Celebration: Worth It

You can drink for charity almost any weekend during the summer. However, the events that make even the jaded feel privileged to be there are relatively few. This is one of them.

Launched in 2004 to fund a UC Davis scholarship in the department of Viticulture and Enology, it's named for Michael Bonaccorsi, the Spago sommelier and winemaker who died that year at the age of 44. Wally's pitches a big tent next to its Westside store and lot of really fine winemakers pour a lot of really good wine. The local restaurants always bring their A-game, too; last year's contributors included Campanile, Grace, Hitching Post (yep, the steakhouse from "Sideways") and a lot more. All that goodwill brings a good crowd; tickets are $95. It's worth it. For tickets, call (310) 475-0606 or click here.

The Best Summer Food Festivals in Los Angeles

These are my picks for the summer's best food festivals. (Agree, disagree or have one  I've overlooked? Lemme know.)

None of these should come as great surprises to frequent readers of this blog -- I've sung all their praises at one time or another -- but you have my solemn vow that you won't leave any of these events regretting that you've paid three figures for a few hours' worth of finger food.

Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration. The 2004 death of master sommelier and winemaker Michael Bonaccorsi gave rise to this august August event -- a large collection of winemakers and a smaller, but no less impressive, gathering of chefs including Neal Fraser, Mark Peel and Hitching Post's Hartley Ostini, all of whom set up shop in the Wally's Wines parking lot. This one's hard to match in terms of sheer wine quality; prior year's vintners include Sea Smoke, L’Aventure and Linne Calodo, but any year is all but guaranteed to be slacker free; Bonacorssi was loved very much. The afternoon benefits the scholarship created in his name, the UC Davis Bonaccorsi Fund. ($95; Aug. 5)

American Wine & Food Festival. Not to mix entertainment conglomerate metaphors, but the Wolfgang Puck event held on Universal Studios' backlot is the Disneyland of foodie events. Starting late in the afternoon and ending well after dark, the sheer amount of first-rate food and wine is blinding. Puck's pull brings in chefs from all over the country, including David Burke, Stephan Pyles and Eric Ripert, as well as winemakers like Jim Clendenen (Au Bon Climat). And they're all happy as hell to be there; not only does Puck requesting a chef's presence represent a sort of benediction, but the benefit for the Los Angeles chapter of Meals on Wheels has earned $13 million to date. ($300; Sept. 29)   

Taste of the Nation. Benefiting hunger-ending organization Save Our Strength, this nationwide shindig has raised more than $70 million since its launch in 1998. A tiny sampling of the goodness includes Grace's Neal Fraser roasting lamb on a spit, Wilson's Michael wilson preparing absurdly rich polenta topped with tender pork (didn't anyone tell him it was summer? glad they forgot) and Dr. Bob's justly famous ice cream. A more complete list is here, but better yet mark it on your calendar for next year. There is no better way to spend $125 on a Sunday afternoon. (June)